The Steelers decided to send a message when they released wide receiver Cedrick Wilson yesterday, hours after he was arrested for punching his former girlfriend in the face.

Dan Rooney, the club's chairman, talked to coach Mike Tomlin and football operations director Kevin Colbert Wednesday night and decided then to "get it done,'' according to Rooney. "We're extremely disappointed with this incident,'' Rooney said. "The Steelers do not condone violence of any kind, especially against women.

"The majority of our players are good citizens and make numerous positive contributions to the community. Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents reflect poorly on all our players and many innocent and good people are considered guilty by association, they get thrown into the pot, so to speak."

Asked if cutting Wilson so quickly might send a message, Rooney answered, "Let's say this, I hope so; I don't know that it will, I hope so.''
It should, responded Shirl Regan, director of the Women's Center and Shelter of Pittsburgh.

"I think that is the message people will hear, that people will support and applaud,'' Regan said. "It will set a tone not just for professional sports teams but it shows no matter who you are that this violence is not OK."
Wilson's arrest was the second in 11 days of a Steelers player for domestic assault. Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison was arrested March 8 for assaulting his girlfriend in Ohio Township. He has been undergoing individual anger management counseling, according to his lawyer, Bob Del Greco. Harrison also immediately acknowledged his wrongdoing publicly and said he did not want to be associated with domestic violence. Harrison has a preliminary hearing before a magistrate in Belleview April 3.

"I know many are asking the question of [why] we released Wilson and Harrison we kept,'' Rooney said. "The circumstances -- I know of the incidents, they are completely different. In fact, when I say we don't condone these things, we don't, but we do have to look at the circumstances that are involved with other players and things like that, so they're not all the same."

In Harrison's case, Rooney said the player was trying to take his son to be baptized. Wilson had a previous incident with his girlfriend in which she was charged with shooting a gun in his home. Wilson had walked away from an argument he had with her before the shots were fired and he was not charged with a crime.

"What Jimmy Harrison was doing and how the incident occurred, what he was trying to do was really well worth it," Rooney said of Harrison's initial intent with his son. "He was doing something that was good, wanted to take his son to get baptized where he lived and things like that. She said she didn't want to do it."

A Steelers spokesman later stressed that Rooney meant that Harrison went to the house with good intentions, but that Rooney was not excusing what he did.

Two other Steelers were arrested over the past two years on domestic charges. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes had charges dropped in Ohio from an incident shortly after he was drafted in 2006, and halfback Najeh Davenport is contesting charges filed against him last fall in Cleveland.
Although not singling out any Steelers, Rooney said, "We think a lot of these players who have problems should get anger management courses and get some help."

Indeed, Shirl Regan would like to talk to the Steelers on that topic.
"We're composing a letter again to the Steelers requesting a meeting to talk to them about training around lifestyle issues, particularly intimate partner involvement.

"I think what we're seeing with the attention these situations are getting is that violence with pro football players is no different than what happens every day in other people's lives, it just does not attract media attention. Hundreds of women are abused every day, an epidemic that is just ripping our country apart."

It's possible Wilson could have been released before the 2008 season anyway, for competitive and salary cap reasons. His salary next season of $2,085,000 was wiped off the books when the Steelers released him yesterday - virtually tripling their available salary cap room to about $3 million.

Wilson, 29, signed a four-year, $8 million contract with the Steelers in 2005 as an unrestricted free agent from the San Francisco 49ers. He caught 26 passes in 2005 and 37 in 2006 when he became a starter. He fell to No. 4 receiver last season and caught 18 passes. He had 81 receptions for 1,162 yards and two touchdowns in his three seasons with the Steelers.

Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sounds like players get 2 chances to get into trouble and off the team. Right now, Silverback, Holmes and Najeh have 1 strike on them. With Wilson, he already had 1 strike and then goes into a restaurant in front of a lot of people and blatantly hits this woman. Sounds like he had it planned out and knew what he was doing, instead of in the "the heat of the moment". Silverback being a Pro bowler might have something to do with it, but not as much as people would like to think. Either way, its not right to hit a woman, I'm not defending Silverback cuz I like him and don't like Wilson, but there are a lot of unknowns concerning Silverback's incident compared to Wilson, who did his premeditated.

Koopa

03-20-2008, 10:11 PM

all bull ****, it's because harrison is a pro bowler and doesn't have that big of a contract, harrison can slap his bitch on live tv and the rooney's wouldn't cut him because he produces on the field and he's still cheap compared to other pro bowlers

BlitzburghRockCity

03-20-2008, 10:13 PM

It's good they do these things on a case by case basis because sometimes there are circumstances that may not totally excuse the behavior but atleast help explain it alittle bit. Harrison still shouldn't have done what he did but it wasn't near on the level of Cedric did from what we can tell but Diesel is correct that we still don't even know the whole story but obviously the Rooney's do and if they feel he's going to be ok then we should trust their judgment.

Black@Gold Forever32

03-20-2008, 10:27 PM

all bull shiat, it's because harrison is a pro bowler and doesn't have that big of a contract, harrison can slap his bitch on live tv and the rooney's wouldn't cut him because he produces on the field and he's still cheap compared to other pro bowlers

Well no shiat the reason Harrison wasn't was due to the fact he was Pro Bowl player...Its a double standard and the Steelers are not the only team to practice this double standard....

Bill Parcells had two sets of different rules when he was HC of the Giants...One for the rest the team and another for Lawrence Taylor...lol

Jimmy Johnson when he was HC of the Cowboys in the 90s did the same thing with his stars....Micheal Irvin especially....

Pro Sports is big business....

Plus I'm all for giving Harrison another chance....Wilson is a bum and needed to get cut before being arrested...lol

K Train

03-20-2008, 10:33 PM

perfect examples lol....

no ones perfect, people shouldnt lose there jobs over one incident like this(unless your cedric wilson), especially since these are scandals alot of times when it comes to athletes.

Black@Gold Forever32

03-20-2008, 10:39 PM

perfect examples lol....

no ones perfect, people shouldnt lose there jobs over one incident like this(unless your cedric wilson), especially since these are scandals alot of times when it comes to athletes.

Exactly Train....Nobody is perfect and people deserve second chances....So I'm willing to give James Harrison another chance.....According to the article Harrison even contacted the Steelers about his situation...So that right there shows that Harrison had remorse for his actions and he knew he was in the wrong...

Wilson deserved to be cut for being a bum and not producing.....His arrest just made it that much easier to give him the ax....

DIESELMAN

03-20-2008, 10:41 PM

Its a double standard and the Steelers are not the only team to practice this double standard....True....:yellowthumb:

Also, even though technically they both commited the same crime, they are both different in degree of wanting to intentionally hit someone. While Silverbacks **** up was in the heat of the moment, Wilson actually walked into a restaurant loaded with witnesses and cold cocked her. Holy ****, thats just asking for jail time and losing your job.

Black@Gold Forever32

03-20-2008, 10:49 PM

True....:yellowthumb:

Also, even though technically they both commited the same crime, they are both different in degree of wanting to intentionally hit someone. While Silverbacks **** up was in the heat of the moment, Wilson actually walked into a restaurant loaded with witnesses and cold cocked her. Holy shiat, thats just asking for jail time and losing your job.

Good post and I agree....

Trust me I would never personally hit a female...I have been kicked in the stones by a woman and I didn't hit a woman back....But I'm not going to judge Harrison or even Wilson as a human being for them hitting a chick...I don't know them personally so I can't say what kind of a person they both are....Plus people do stupid things at times.....lol

But cutting Harrison doesn't make sense since he is a good player and really there isn't much depth at OLB anyway right now....Plus I'm willing to give him another chance....

As for Wilson he just needed to be cut period and him getting arrested made that decision easier.....So I support Harrison not being cut and Wilson being cut...Plus the bottom line is a winning football team....Everybody has to remember pro sports is big business....So a double standard will always come into play...

DIESELMAN

03-20-2008, 10:56 PM

I don't know them personally so I can't say what kind of a person they both are....Plus people do stupid things at times.....lol

:yellowthumb: Thats the big thing there, nobody knows these guys personally and to judge them by what we think we know isn't right either. That double standard isn't just in pro sports either, I'm sure everybody has seen it up close and personal at one time or another at their job.

K Train

03-20-2008, 10:57 PM

wilson is a pussy and probably got his *** beat anyway

Black@Gold Forever32

03-20-2008, 10:59 PM

wilson is a pussy and probably got his *** beat anyway

:lol:......

BlitzburghRockCity

03-21-2008, 06:05 AM

It frees us up cap wise now which is great, God knows we could use the room to manuever under the cap.

I can't believe people are getting so torqued up about Wilson getting released just because another player had a similar circumstance go down in their life. People just don't get it, you can't group everybody together and say everybody gets the same punishment no matter what. Circumstances can greatly influence the reasons behind the problem. It may not excuse it; and anger management counseling, fines, and the like are still mandated in for James, Cedric, & Najeh as well they should. I have a hard time believing the Rooney's would be afraid to cut anybody regardless of who they were if they had continued run ins with the law of this nature. It's not like we're the Cowbody of the 90's here or the Bengals of this modern era, or any other disgruntled and disfunctional team you can think of. We generally have a very good team who usually has players that stay out of this type of trouble and that's something to be proud of!

Wilson atleast realizes the ramifications of his situation and hopefully he's able to get help to be a good role model for his kids.

Wilson at least he realizes the ramifications of his situation and hopefully he's able to get help to be a good role model for his kids.:yellowthumb: Yeah that should be his main focus, getting help. Harrison is in a anger management course, so at least he's trying.

ItAintEasyBeingPeazy

03-21-2008, 08:54 AM

I don't know if putting one of our best LB's in a Anger Management Class is a good idea..lol. Sheesh what has the NFL become???....:boxing:

BlitzburghRockCity

03-21-2008, 08:58 AM

I don't know if putting one of our best LB's in a Anger Management Class is a good idea..lol. Sheesh what has the NFL become???....:boxing:

This is true, linebackers who play angry and pissed off generally do well for us so maybe the Rooney's should rethink that strategy :lol: I swear if Harrison comes out that counseling wanting to go off and study ancient philosphy and pick flowers Im going to be pissed! :reddevil:

portcityblackandgold

03-21-2008, 09:10 AM

:cursin: Anger management classes are more about interpersonal conflict resolution. He'll still be able to clean clocks on Sunday without a second thought

steelcitysfinestXL

03-21-2008, 09:41 AM

Wilson was a locker room problem, he blasted the team/offense/coaching publically multiple times. He has had numerous incidents this offseason alone.. non-productive, crybaby @sshole who was a huge waste of time and money!!! Now we have to make a move on a WR, which makes me happy cause we need a shakeup there after the #2 IMO anyway!!!!

JoeThomas

03-21-2008, 11:32 AM

he wasnt very good anyway. you can find a 100 guys out there just like him.

yinzer

03-21-2008, 01:11 PM

This is true, linebackers who play angry and pissed off generally do well for us so maybe the Rooney's should rethink that strategy :lol: I swear if Harrison comes out that counseling wanting to go off and study ancient philosphy and pick flowers Im going to be pissed! :reddevil:

he wasnt very good anyway. you can find a 100 guys out there just like him.

you're right. he didn't do diddly squat.

ItAintEasyBeingPeazy

03-21-2008, 02:21 PM

Hopefully Nate will grow a steady pair of hands this offseason and step it up a notch, He's definately better that Ced anyway.In Practice every DB said Nate is the hardest guy to defend.I still believe he can be a good reciever for us.

TampaSteelGirl

03-21-2008, 03:51 PM

Well it seems to me that Wilson had all intentions of punching her in the face and did so and walked out. He had one incident. As far as Santonio, you haven't heard a bad word about him since then. Harrison got his first warning as did Najah so i'm sure Wilson being cut immediately will show the players that the Rooneys are not messing around and will not tolerate the team being made to look bad. Wilson walking into a resturant and punching her in the face directly i'm sure was pre meditated. :nono:

black an gold 4 life

03-21-2008, 05:53 PM

Sounds like players get 2 chances to get into trouble and off the team. Right now, Silverback, Holmes and Najeh have 1 strike on them. With Wilson, he already had 1 strike and then goes into a restaurant in front of a lot of people and blatantly hits this woman. Sounds like he had it planned out and knew what he was doing, instead of in the "the heat of the moment". Silverback being a Pro bowler might have something to do with it, but not as much as people would like to think. Either way, its not right to hit a woman, I'm not defending Silverback cuz I like him and don't like Wilson, but there are a lot of unknowns concerning Silverback's incident compared to Wilson, who did his premeditated.
this was wilsons 1st the 1st time it was the girl who held police at bay 4 11 hours, she said wilson did not punch her, she said he push her n the side of the head an told her she was stupid 4 getting drunk, that came out of her mouth.................................

K Train

03-21-2008, 06:00 PM

i can always expect something scholarly from your posts lol

Black@Gold Forever32

03-21-2008, 06:36 PM

i can always expect something scholarly from your posts lol

:lol:..........You crack me up Train....

DIESELMAN

03-21-2008, 07:09 PM

this was wilsons 1st the 1st time it was the girl who held police at bay 4 11 hours, she said wilson did not punch her, she said he push her n the side of the head an told her she was stupid 4 getting drunk, that came out of her mouth.................................
Whatever....hes gone is all that matters. Anyone who has a psycho girlfriend like he had, puts a restraining order on her, drops it, then stalks her and punches her in a public place has more then 1 strike on them.

Captcoolhand

03-21-2008, 07:31 PM

Whatever....hes gone is all that matters. Anyone who has a psycho girlfriend like he had, puts a restraining order on her, drops it, then stalks her and punches her in a public place has more then 1 strike on them.
You're got damn right!

Key word here folks..... Punched

Wilson punched his ol' lady, Harrison just slapped, Big difference.
Maybe even the Rooney's understand that a women deserves to be slapped once in there life time. Hell, even they are probably guilty of that.:yesnod: